tontoz wrote:nate33 wrote:I've been more impressed with Thompson than Mosgov. Don't get me wrong, I like Mosgov a lot, but the reason his minutes were cut is because he doesn't have the ability to guard the pick-and-roll and string out the ball-handler. Once Golden State went small, Mosgov was forced to guard Iggy. That resulted in wide open 3's for Iggy, or worse, Iggy set a pick for Curry, forcing Mosgov to switch and cover Curry.
Thompson has been more valuable than Mosgov IMO because of his defensive versatility. It doesn't matter what lineup Golden State plays, Thompson can do his job defensively.
Iggy is not a guy who can be relied on for consistent offense. He has never been comfortable in the go to scorer role. Just last night he went 2-11 from the foul line. If i am the Cavs i take my chances with Iggy beating me with his shooting.
Thompson is strong on the boards but isn't a post up threat against a smaller player. Mozgov was scoring routinely on Green.
Curry had his breakout game with Mozgov out. GS was having a much easier time getting to the rim last night. Thompson cant protect the rim like Mozgov. The Cavs were -22 with him on the floor last night.
C'mon now. Curry's breakout had nothing to do with either Mozgov or Thompson. When Curry is making step-back 3's in people's grill like he did to Delledova, and when he's dropping bombs from 30 feet, he is not influenced by which big man was in the game. (And let's not forget that Curry scored 17 second-half points in Game 4.)
I agree that putting Mosgov on Iggy was the correct strategy when GSW went small, but GSW countered by running the Curry pick-and-roll with Iggy as the pick setter. Mosgov couldn't just camp out in the lane because he had to step up and guard Curry.
That's why Curry scored 17 points in the 2nd half of game 4. Blatt understood this and that's why he was forced to limit Mosgov's minutes in Game 5. It worked. Despite playing on the road, the Cavs kept the game much more competitive and were down by just 1 with less than 5:00 to go.
I am in no way trying to come across as a Mosgov hater. I think Mosgov has been fabulous this whole series. I'm just saying there is a strategic reason why Blatt had to limit his minutes. As good as Mosgov has been, he still is a liability defending the perimeter. Thompson isn't.